“No! No! Don’t lie to me, Gideon! Tell me what the hell is going on! Don’t lie to me!” Gemma shouted frantically, her eyes wide as she glowered at her brother. Left unbandaged, the scars and wounds on her face looked jarring under the lights as they pulled and twisted at her skin. Even the doctors were having a hard time taking in the sight of her.
As the doctors tried to pin her down, she flailed her arms and struggled wildly, knocking away the syringe that was filled with the sedative. “Why do I have to leave Bradfort City, Gideon? Why? I want to know why!” she yelled. “None of you have any problem with me being with Tony, so why are you making me leave?”
The vein near Gideon’s brow throbbed as the patience drained out of him and his face darkened at his sister’s hysterical fit. When she reached out to slap away the doctor’s hand once more, he abruptly shouted, “That’s enough!”
She jumped in shock and her cries died down as she gaped at him. He gritted his teeth as he continued, “Do you know why you have to leave? It’s because Tony and the rest of the Hart Family don’t want you to stay in the city and get in the way of his relationship with Myra! Did you really think they would forgive you after you crashed your car into his and had him hospitalized? Don’t kid yourself! The Hart Family has made it clear that they will be pressing charges against you unless you leave Bradfort City! And if they do, you won’t just be charged for reckless driving—you’d be charged for attempted murder!”
“But, I wasn’t trying to murder him!” Shocked by Gideon’s words, Gemma began to stammer, “I-I admit that I lost control, but that’s only because Tony said he was going to kill me. I couldn’t stand that he was being cruel to me and I hated that he was defending that woman. I lost my mind and I tried to knock him down with my car, but I didn’t mean to do it! I-I just wanted him to be nice to me—”
“What did you just say?” His eyes widened as he reached out to grab her by the wrist. “Did you just say that Tony wanted to kill you?”
“No, no!” she denied vehemently, shaking her head as she grew terrified of her brother’s demanding tone. “He was only trying to get me to stop harassing him and Myra, but I was angry and upset! He got into his car and he was driving away when I saw how gentle he looked while he was on the phone. That was when I knew he was speaking to that woman and I was overcome by jealousy. I lost control and I tailed after his car…”
She trailed off at the memory of the crash. Aggravated, she began to furiously shake her head. She wanted to reach up to bury her face in her hands, but her hands were numb with pain. “I’m so angry, Gideon! I hate this! Why am I not the one standing next to Tony? Why does Myra get to have him? Why?”
Gemma was starting to sound like a broken record. Gideon clenched his jaw as a hard look passed over his face. After what seemed like a long moment, he sighed in exhaustion and answered, “Look, just do as you’re told. Go abroad with Mom and lay low for a bit. We’ll let you come back once this whole thing has blown over.”
When he saw that she was still manic, he turned to give the doctors a meaningful look. Then, he promised bitterly, “Gemma, we will make them pay for all the pain and suffering they’ve put you through. I promise.”
Having been signaled by Gideon, the doctors pinned the girl down on the bed and administered the sedative. It wasn’t long before the hospital room quieted down once more. He watched as his sister slept peacefully and his face grew stormy.
It was evident that Gemma had not meant to crash into him since she had been provoked into doing so. However, he hated that there was no way for him to get back at the Hart Family and to make things worse, he had to tread carefully if he wanted to get through this whole mess unscathed. However, there was one thing he knew for sure—he would make them pay for the turmoil that the Walton Family had experienced all this while.
…
Meanwhile, in Tony’s hospital ward, Shawn was solemnly eyeing his brother wearing a cast as he asked, “Are you sure that whatever the woman sent you was real?” He had a phone in his hand and there were a couple of images that were displayed on the screen, most of which contained charts and statistics.
Tony was impassive as he answered, “I’m not.”
Shawn frowned, looking pensive. He kept his phone and pulled out the chair next to Tony’s bed. Then, he sat as he responded, “I’ll keep looking into this, no matter what. The Walton Family seem to be up to something, so keep your guard up.” Then, he added as an afterthought, “Gemma, in particular, is a time bomb. Grandpa might have banished her from the city, but knowing her, she would definitely put up a fight.”
“You don’t say,” Tony drawled before he reached over to take a slice of pear from the platter on the bedside table.
Shawn was about to reach for a slice as well when the entire platter was taken away from him. He stared at his hand, which was frozen in mid-air, and was rendered speechless for a moment. “Did Miss Stark slice the pears for you?”
“How insightful of you,” Tony said sarcastically before he bit into an apple slice. “Get your woman to slice fruits for you and stop stealing from my plate.”
Shawn chuckled because he knew that Estelle would rather slice him up than give him apple slices. He glanced at his watch. Upon seeing the time, he raised a brow and announced teasingly, “Right, I won’t bother you lovebirds anymore. I have to go and check on Estelle. She has to film a scene tonight.”
“It’s not some steamy, erotic scene, is it? What kind of scene takes place in the middle of the night?” Tony asked insouciantly.
Shawn’s face darkened when he heard that and he retorted with dark amusement, “You know, I could always stay here and take care of you so Miss Stark can take a break. She must be worn out from taking care of you for the past couple of days.”
“Whether or not she’s worn out is none of your concern.” Tony raised his brow and shot his brother a pointed look.
Shawn merely sighed in resignation as he rose from the chair, “She’s pregnant now. You should take good care of her and stop being so grumpy in front of her.”
“You can see yourself out,” Tony quipped indifferently, his face devoid of expression.
Shawn shook his head, then turned to leave the room. It wasn’t long after he left when Myra entered with a bag full of take-out containers.
Tony raised his brow at that sight. Then, he turned his gaze away from her, pretending as though he hadn’t seen her at all. In fact, he looked as though he could be sulking. Myra smiled pleasantly as she sauntered over to him. She took out the containers and placed them on the bedside table, saying, “Estelle and I passed by a hotel on our way here, so I went down and grabbed you dinner.”
Upon hearing that, Tony frowned in disgust and replied icily, “I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, well then. I guess I’ll just have to eat all these by myself.” With that, she opened up the containers and spooned rice for herself before she dug into the side dishes. As though she was impressed by the dishes, she grinned happily at the meal.
He gritted his teeth at this, fuming at the woman sitting before him. He was incredulous at how she came and went as she pleased and he couldn’t believe the audacity she had to return with a take-out meal. Lisa had been the one to ask the kitchen to prepare and deliver his meals for the past couple of days. But now, I’m stuck with a woman who not only refuses to prepare meals for me, but has resorted to bringing me take-out! She didn’t even bother going home to ask the kitchen to make my meals!
He suddenly barked stiffly, “Come here.”
Myra looked at him in confusion. “You just said you weren’t hungry.”
Tony knew she was feigning innocence and she was deliberately aggravating the situation. He raised his brow once more and tried to hide his amusement as he pointed out coldly, “They just put me on an IV. Shall I take it out and walk over to you myself?”
Myra sighed to herself when she heard that. He’s no fun. Then, putting down her bowl and utensils, she shuffled over to him and mumbled, “What is it?”
She had only just stopped by his bedside when he abruptly wrapped his arm around her waist and before she could react, he pulled her into his embrace.
Just then, the door to the suite opened with a click and Myra’s face flushed in embarrassment. She tried to straighten her posture, but the man under her refused to let go. His arm tightened around her waist, but he was careful not to hurt her as he pressed her against him. He looked up at the door and his deep voice rumbled next to her ear as he asked curtly, “What is it?”
She stiffened before she turned to look at the doorway.
